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A BOOK "^^ 



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Lath Bible Bo^a 

By 
ARTHUR W. SPALDING 



"Whosoever shall receive this child in My name 
receiveth Me." — Jesus. 



Printed in U. S. A. 

PACIFIC PRESS PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION 
Mountain View, California 

Kansas Citi>, Missouri Portland, Oregon St. Paul, Minnesota 

Brookfield, Illinois Cristobal, C Z. 






Copyright 1921, by 
Pacific Press Publishing Association 



JAN 24 1922 
©CIA654722 



'WS j 



A Word to Parents 

The stories of the Bible are the greatest source of 
heroic inspiration. They are the heritage of the 
Christian child ; and from the time he can understand 
speech, they should be given him. Many parents find 
difficulty in selecting and adapting to the child's age 
interesting Bible stories; and to assist fathers and 
mothers in choosing and putting into simple form 
some of these stories is the object of this little book. 

It is not in place here to discuss the science of 
story-telling; but two obvious essentials may well be 
mentioned. First, simplicity of language. While the 
narrative portions of the Bible are generally simple 
in diction, familiarity with a child's vocabulary will 
give the story-teller an instinctive sense of when a 
simpler phrase or word is needed. And the story 
must be in simple language. Second, adaptation. 
Certain tales, like that of Joseph, are too lengthy for 
one story, and either they must be made ' ' continued 
stories, ' ' or they must be condensed, bringing out only 
the points that strike the keynote selected; for ex- 
ample, how his dreams came true. On the other hand, 
there are life sketches of great human interest, like 
that of Mephibosheth, in which the details are so 
meager as to necessitate a judicious use of outside in- 
formation and of imagination in amplifying into 
stories. The art of adaptation of stories is an essential 
to success. 

Stories must be studied if they are to be told. 

If the content and style of these stories are found 
to interest the children, they may serve in some de- 
gree as models for the hundreds of tales of daring, of 
endurance, of courage, and of self-sacrifice, which the 
Bible contains. A. W. S. 

(3) 




STORY HEADINGS 



PAGE 

7 



The Boy Whose Dreams Came True 

The Little Slave Boy Who Became a Prince 17 

A Little Boy Who Listened 25 

The Shepherd Boy Who Slew a Giant . . 29 

The Sad Little Prince Who Was Made Glad 35 

The Bad Boys of Bethel 43 

The Boy Who Was Raised from the Dead 47 

The Little Boy Who Was Hid in the Temple 55 

A Boy King 63 

The Child Prophet 71 

The Boy in the Wilderness 79 

A Lad of Galilee . . . ... . . 85 





They sold him to the merchants for a slave. 



(6) 



THE BOY 

Whose Dreams Came True 





LONG, long time ago there lived 
a boy named Joseph. He had 
ten half brothers, and he had 
one own brother, and he had a 
father; but he had no mother, 
for his mother was dead. 

And now that he had no mother, his fa- 
ther loved him very much, but his half 
brothers hated him. His father made him 
a beautiful coat of many colors, such as 
none of his brothers had ; and so they hated 
him all the more. And his father used to 
tell him stories, wonderful stories; for his 
father was a wonderful man, who had 
dreamed dreams, and seen angels, and 
talked with God. And little Joseph used to 
wish he could dream dreams, just as his 
father had. 

(7) 



8 Little Bible Boys 

And so one night, he did. He dreamed 
that he was out in the harvest field, binding 
wheat with his brothers, and his sheaf 
stood right up in the middle, and all his 
brothers' sheaves came around and bowed 
down to his sheaf. And that meant that 
his brothers should bow down to him. Then 
he went and told this dream to his brothers. 
But they scowled at him, and they said, 
**Do you think you will rule over us?'' And 
they hated him all the more. 

Then another night he dreamed another 
dream. He dreamed that he stood out 
under the sky, and the sun and the moon 
and the eleven stars bowed to him. And 
that meant that his brothers, and their 
mother, and their father should all bow 
down to him. Then he went and told this 
dream to his brothers. But they scowled 
at him, and they shook their fists at him ; 
and they said, "Do you think that we and 
our mother and your father will come and 
bow down to you?" And they hated him 
yet more and more. 



Little Bible Boys 



9 



Then one day, the ten half brothers 
all went far away to Shechem, with their 
sheep ; and they were gone for many, many 
days. So their father sent Joseph to find 
them. And he walked and he walked and 




The sun and the moon and the eleven stars bowed to him. 



he walked all day, till he came to Shechem. 
But he didn't find them there. Then a 
man told him they were at Dothan. And 
he walked and he walked and he walked 
till he came to Dothan; and there he saw 
them. And they saw him. They saw him 



10 Little Bible Boys 

coming, all tired out and hungry; but they 
didn't pity him a bit, for they hated him. 
And they said: ''Here comes this dreamer. 
Let's kill him, and tell our father that 
some beast killed him, and we shall see 
what will become of his dreams." 

So they caught him, and they scowled 
at him, and they struck him, and they 
pulled off his beautiful coat of many col- 
ors, and they threw him down into a deep 
hole, and left him there to die. 

But pretty soon they saw some mer- 
chants coming; and they pulled Joseph up 
out of the hole, and sold him to the mer- 
chants for a slave. Poor Joseph begged 
them not to sell him; but they would not 
hear, for they hated him. 

The merchants took Joseph away off into 
Egypt, and there they sold him for a slave. 
But he grew to be a great man in Egypt, 
till he was next to the king. And one 
day, when there was a famine over all the 
land, his ten wicked brothers came down to 
Egypt to buy corn. And they came to Jo- 
seph, who was ruler over all the land. But 







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12 Little Bible Boys 

they didn't know it was Joseph, for he had 
grown to be a man; and besides, they 
thought Joseph must be dead. So they 
came and bowed down to him, just as his 
dreams had said they would. He was good 
to them. He didn't tell them he was Jo- 
seph; but he gave them corn, and he sent 
back their money with them. But he said 
they must bring their youngest brother with 
them the next time they came. 

So the next time they came, they brought 
his brother. And when they started to go 
home this time, Joseph put his silver cup 
in his brother's sack, and then he sent a 
man after them to catch them and bring 
them back, as though they had stolen his 
cup. And he said that the one in whose 
sack the cup was found should be his slave. 
He said this to try them; for he wanted 
to know if they hated his brother as they 
had hated him, and if they would let that 
brother be a slave, too. Then they all came 
and fell down before him again, and one 
of them, whose name was Judah, begged 
him to let their brother go, for he said it 



Little Bible Boys 13 

would kill their father to lose this son too. 
And Judah said he would stay in his place, 
and be a slave. 

Then Joseph knew that they were no 
more so cruel as they had been to him. 




He sent back their money with them. 

And he burst out crying, and said: "I am 
Joseph. Does my father yet live?^' Then 
they were so frightened they didn't know 
what to say. But Joseph said : ''Don't be 
afraid. Til not hurt you. I will help you.'' 



Little Bible Boys 15 

And he came and kissed his brother, and 
then he kissed them all; for he had for- 
given them. 

And Joseph told them to go and get his 
father, and bring him down to Egypt, and 
to get all their families, and he would care 
for them while the famine lasted. So they 
went and got their father and all their 
families, and came down to Egypt. And 
they all bowed down before Joseph ; and so 
his dreams came true. But Joseph bowed 
down before his father, and he kissed him, 
and he took him and he took them all, and 
he gave them houses, and he gave them 
pastures, and he gave them fields, all in 
the best part of the land. So he took care 
of them, and they were happy all their 
lives. 




There he drifts out in the rushes. 



(16) 




The Little Slave Boy 

Who Became a Prince 




HERE stands a little cabin by the 
dark river. Do you see it? Just 
a little clay cabin almost any 
rain would wash away — but 
here in the land of Egypt it never 
rains. Dark it is, oh, dark! But away in 
the east, the light is beginning to glimmer. 
Hark! From the little cabin faintly 
comes a baby's cry. It is very low and 
very short, as though a mother hushed it 
quickly. Watch! The little door opens 
slowly, and a woman comes out. Then a 
girl comes out. And they shut the door. 
The girl is bareheaded and barefooted. 
And the woman is barefooted ; but over her 
head she wears a shawl, and she wraps it 
close around her and around something 
she is carrying. 

(17) 



18 Little Bible Boys 

Down the path they go toward the river. 
And they walk along so still, so still. 
Never a word they say. They come to the 
river, and turn and walk down the bank a 
way, until they come to where the rushes 
grow, and there they stop and look around. 
It is growing lighter and lighter ; the morn- 
ing is coming fast. But no one is in sight. 

And now the woman unwraps the shawl 
and brings out her burden. What do you 
think it is? A little boat with a cover, just 
about so-o-o long, made of rushes twisted 
together and covered with pitch. And what 
do you think is in the little boat? The 
woman lifts the cover and looks within, 
and the girl looks, and they see (as they 
think, for the last time) a little rosy baby, 
fast asleep. And the mother stoops down 
to kiss him ; but she stops, for she is afraid 
she might wake him. She shuts down the 
cover, and she looks up to heaven for just 
a moment to pray. Then she takes the 
little boat, and down to the river's brink 
she goes, and she pushes it out among the 
rushes that stand so proudly waving there. 



Little Bible Boys 19 

^'Miriam/' she says to the little girl, 
"stay and watch what becomes of the 
baby/' And away she speeds to get to her 
home before anyone shall see her. 

What has she done? Has she thrown 
away her baby? Oh, let me tell you. She 
was a poor Hebrew slave woman. Her 
husband, the baby's father, had to work 
hard every day in making brick for the 
cruel Egyptians, and often she herself was 
made to work. And worse than that, Pha- 
raoh, the king, had said that every baby 
boy of the Hebrews, when any one of his 
people should find it, should be thrown into 
the river and drowned. 

And this mother had kept her baby boy 
hidden three months. But then he was so 
large she could not keep him hidden any 
longer ; and so she prayed God to keep him, 
and she put him in this little basket boat 
and left him to God's care there on the 
river. 

And there he drifts out in the rushes, 
fast asleep, while his sister Miriam watches. 
And the morning comes on, and the light 



20 Little Bible Boys 

spreads over the sky. Then, just as the 
sun begins to lift his red round face above 
the earth, down to the river comes — who 
do you think? — the daughter of Pharaoh 
the king, and all her maids with her. She 
is coming to bathe in the river and worship 
there; for she and all the Egyptians wor- 
ship the river and the sun. So along she 
walks by the river's side, and she comes to 
where the little boat is drifting, drifting, 
drifting in the rushes. 

*^Go,'* she says to one of her maids, "and 
fetch me that little boat." And the maid 
plunges into the water and gets to the 
little boat, and draws it to the river's edge. 
Then the daughter of Pharaoh stoops down 
and lifts the cover and looks in. And the 
baby opens his eyes, but it is not his mother 
he sees, and the poor little baby cries. 

'*0h, you poor little baby!" says the 
king's daughter. ''This is one of the He- 
brew children." 

Then up comes Miriam, and says, ''Shall 
I go and call a Hebrew woman to nurse 
the baby for you?" 



Little Bible Boys 21 

"Run!" says the king's daughter. And 
Miriam runs, runs to her home, and brings 
the baby's own mother back. 

And Pharaoh's daughter says to her, 
'^Take this baby and nurse it for me, and 
I will pay your wages." Oh, what a glad 
mother! How she thanks God as she takes 
her baby home, where none shall make her 
afraid any more! 

But now the baby was claimed by the 
daughter of Pharaoh as her own. Though 
he was a Hebrew slave baby, she said he 
should become a prince, and should finally 
be the king of Egypt. She let the mother 
keep him for many a year. And all that 
time, his mother taught him to love God and 
to do right, no matter how hard it was. 

Then when he was twelve years old, the 
daughter of Pharaoh, who had often come 
to see him, sent for him and took him away. 
And she called his name Moses, which 
means, "Drawn out," because he was drawn 
out of the water. And she put him in the 
schools of the priests, who worshiped false 
gods. And they taught him many, many 



22 Little Bible Boys 

things, and he became very wise. But they 
could not make him forget the true God; 
because his good mother, the slave woman, 
had taught him when he was a boy. 

He lived in the great, beautiful palaces 
of Pharaoh, and in the grand, wonderful 
temples; and he was called the son of 
Pharaoh's daughter. He was very noble- 
looking, and he was very wise and skillful ; 
and all the people loved him. They loved 
to see him in his great golden chariot, as he 
led the soldiers out to battle ; and they loved 
to see him in his pure w^hite robes, as he 
walked with the priests in the temple; and 
they loved to see him stand by the throne, 
with the golden ball and the ivory rod in 
his hand, as the people came for justice. 
^^How wonderful,'' they w^hispered, '^that a 
little slave boy should become so noble a 
prince!" But they never said it out loud, 
for they thought he would not like to hear 
it said he had been the baby of a slave. 

But there came a day when Moses went 
out to see how his people, the Hebrews, 
were getting along. For he loved them, and 



Little Bible Boys 23 

he was not ashamed to be one of them; 
because they were God's people, and they 
were his people. Though he was so great 
a prince, he never forgot that he belonged 
to the slave people. 

And he found an Egyptian striking a 
Hebrew. Then he was angry, and he killed 
the Egyptian, and started to set his people 
free. But when Pharaoh heard of it, he 
was filled with rage, and would have killed 
him. So Moses fled away. He would not 
be a prince if he could not help his people, 
the slaves. And he was out in the moun- 
tain country for many, many years ; but at 
last, God brought him back to Egypt and 
set him to work to deliver his people. With 
many wonderful works, God made Moses 
great again in the eyes of the Egyptians, 
greater far than when he was a prince. 
And he took the Hebrews, the children of 
Israel, out of Egypt, and brought them to 
the Promised Land. 

So this is the story of the little slave boy 
who became a prince of Egypt, and then a 
prince with God. 




He thought Eli was calling him. So up he jumped. 



(24) 




A Little Boy 

WHO 

LISTENED 




NCE upon a time, there was a 
little boy named Samuel. He 
lived with the good priest Eli, in 
the house of God. He had work 
to do every morning, and every 
night, and all day long. In the morning, 
he would open the doors of the house, and 
sweep out the rooms, and put everything in 
place. And at night, he closed the doors, 
and trimmed the lamps, and put everything 
in place again, before he lay down to sleep. 
And he used to run errands for Eli, and 
bring wood and water, just as little boys do 
nowadays. And Eli taught him to read, 
and he taught him to pray to the great Je- 
hovah God in the heavens. 

And Jehovah looked down upon the little 
boy Samuel, morning and night, and all 
day long; and He saw how faithful he was 

(25) 



26 Little Bible Boys 

to bring the wood and the water, and to 
open the doors on time, and to sweep, and 
to trim the lamps, and everything. And He 
said : *^I love the little boy Samuel, he is so 
faithful and good. I will give him some- 
thing greater to do. And I will go and 
talk with him Myself.'' 

So one night, after Samuel had done his 
work, and had lain down on his little bed 
to sleep, he heard somebody calling him, 
^'Samuel.'' And he thought it was Eli call- 
ing him. So up he jumped and ran in 
where Eli was lying on his bed. And he 
said, "Here I am, for you called me." 

"No, little Samuel/' said Eli, "I didn't 
call you. Go and lie down again." 

So Samuel went and lay down again. 
But he hadn't yet taken the littlest nap, 
when again he heard somebody calling 
him, "Sam-uel." And up he jumped and 
ran in to Eli. "Here I am," he said, "for 
you called me." 

"No, little Samuel," said Eli, "I didn't 
call you. Go and lie down again." So 
Samuel went and lay down again. 



Little Bible Boys 27 

But soon he heard somebody calling him 
again. And though he was sleepy and tired, 
he didn't say, "Well, Eli doesn't want me; 
Fm going to sleep/' No; but up he jumped 
just as quickly as before, and ran to Eli, 
and said, "Here I am, for you did call me." 

Then Eli knew that it was the Lord God 
who was calling the child. And he said 
gently: "Little Samuel, go and lie down. 
And if He calls you again, say, ^Speak, Je- 
hovah, for Thy servant heareth.' " 

So Samuel went and lay down again. 
But this time, he was all awake, and he 
trembled to think the great Jehovah would 
speak with him. And he lay there with his 
eyes wide open, and his ears listening, all 
ready to answer when the Lord should call. 

And Jehovah called, just as before, "Sam- 
uel, Sam-uel!" Then Samuel said, "Speak, 
for Thy servant heareth." And Jehovah 
talked with Samuel, and told him what he 
should say to the people. And when the 
people heard him, they said: "Little Sam- 
uel has seen Jehovah God. He shall be 
called 'the seer of Jehovah.' " 




He stopped at the brook, and picked up five smooth stones. 



(28) 




The Shepherd Boy 
Who 

Slew a Giant 




N the days when there were 
giants, there lived in the land of 
Israel a shepherd boy named 
David. He was the youngest of 
seven brothers. The others had 
grown up and gone to the wars ; but David 
was left in the wilderness to keep the sheep. 
David had a sling that he could sling 
stones with; and when the wolves and the 
bears came to carry off his sheep, he drove 
them away with his sling. But one day 
there came a lion, a big yellow lion ; and he 
picked up a lamb in his mouth, and ran 
away with it. And David ran after him, 
and he caught the lion, and he killed him ; 
and he took the poor little lamb back to its 
mamma. 

And then there came a bear, a big black 
bear; and he took up a little lamb in his 

(29) 



30 Little Bible Boys 

mouth, and ran off with it. And David 
ran after him, and he caught him. And 
when the bear stood up on his hind feet to 
fight, David caught hold of him, and killed 
him ; and he took the poor little lamb back 
to its mamma. 

One day, he was out all alone with his 
sheep, when a man came running to him 
from his father's house, and said, "Your 
father wants you." So he left the man 
with his sheep, and went to his father. And 
his father said : "David, here are ten loaves 
of bread and a bushel of parched corn that 
I want you to take to your brothers in the 
army. And here are ten cheeses for you to 
give to their captain.'' So David loaded the 
bread and the corn and the cheeses on a 
donkey, and took a man along to help him, 
and so he came to the army. 

Now there was a giant there to fight the 
Israelites; and he was down in the valley, 
shouting : "Give me a man to fight with me ! 
I'm a Philistine, and you are Israelites. If 
he kills me, all the Philistines will be your 
servants ; but if I kill him, all the Israelites 



Little Bible Boys 31 

shall be our servants. If you are not 
afraid, give me one of your men to fight 
with me!'' 

But no one would go to fight with him; 
for he was ten feet tall, and he had a great 
brazen shield and a brazen helmet and a 
brazen coat of mail, and brazen armor for 
his legs; and he had a spear whose head 
weighed twenty-five pounds, and a sword 
that another man could hardly lift. So 
everyone was afraid of him. 

But when David heard his voice, and 
saw that everybody was afraid of him, he 
said: ^'I will go and fight this giant; and 
the God who helped me kill the lion and the 
bear, will help me kill this giant." So he 
started down into the valley. He had no 
helmet, and he had no shield, and he had 
no sword; but he went down with just his 
shepherd's staff and his sling. Now when 
he got down to the bottom of the valley, he 
stopped at the brook, and picked up five 
smooth stones, and put them into his shep- 
herd's bag. Then he climbed up the bank, 
and went to meet the giant. 



32 Little Bible Boys 

But when the giant saw him coming, 
and saw how little he was, and saw that 
he had no helmet nor shield nor sword, 
but only a staff and a sling, he was very 
angry. And he shouted: "Am I a dog, 
that you come to drive me away with a 
stick? Come to me, and I will give your 
flesh to the fowls of the air and to the 
beasts of the field/' 

But David wasn't afraid of him. He 
shouted back at him, so everybody could 
hear: "You come to me with a sword and 
with a spear and with a shield ; but I come 
to you in the name of Jehovah of hosts, 
whom you have defied. And He will give 
you into my hand, that all the world may 
know there is a God in Israel." Then he 
ran forward to meet the giant, and the 
giant strode forward to meet David. A 
man came before him, bearing his shield; 
and the giant got ready his spear and his 
sword, and he pushed back his helmet on 
his he^d, and cursed David by all his gods. 

But David stopped, and he took a stone 
out of his shepherd's bag, and put it in his 



Little Bible Boys 33 

sling. Then he swung it around his head, 
and slung it at the giant. And the stone 
whizzed straight toward the giant, and 
struck him right in the forehead, from 
which he had pushed back his helmet. And 
the stone sank in, and the giant fell. 

Then how the Israelites shouted! And 
they all ran forward, and the Philistines 
ran away. 

So this is how the shepherd boy who 
trusted in God, slew the great giant who 
despised God. 




Mephibosheth's Father and His Friend David. 



(34) 



The Sad Little ^^ 

PRINCE » 

Who Was Made Glad 





LONG time ago, there lived in 
the land of Israel a little boy, 
just five years old, named Me- 
phibosheth. He wasn't a poor 
little boy. He had a beautiful 
great house to live in, with palm trees and 
fountains and flowers. And he had beauti- 
ful clothes to wear, blue and gold and 
scarlet, and all of silk and fine twined 
linen. And he had the best food, and the 
best bed, and the best playthings, and the 
best servants to take care of him; and he 
had the best father in all the land. For he 
was a prince : his father was Jonathan, and 
his grandfather was Saul, the king of 
Israel. 

And he had a friend whom, though he 
had never seen, he had heard about ever 
since he could remember; for his father, 

(35) 



36 Little Bible Boys ' 

Jonathan, often talked to little Mephibo- 
sheth about him, and told how good he 
was, and how beautiful, and how sweet his 
voice was. And that friend's name was 
David. '*And if ever anything should hap- 
pen to thy father, little one, flee to David ; 
for David will take care of thee.'' So said 
his father when the days were growing 
dark. 

And one of those dark mornings, little 
Mephibosheth's father came to tell him 
good-by. And he was clothed in gloomy 
iron armor, for he was going far to the 
north to fight a battle. ^^Good-by, little 
one," said Mephibosheth's father, as he 
kissed him ; ^'good-by. May God keep thee ! 
May God keep thee! Good-by." And he 
kissed him again, and gave him back to his 
nurse. And away he rode, with all his 
men, to fight the battle in the north. And 
every day and every day, little Mephibo- 
sheth would watch from the palace win- 
dov/s, down the valley and over the hills, to 
see his father come back. But he did not 
come. 



Little Bible Boys 37 

At last, one morning, the city was all in 
confusion and noise; for there had come a 
man out of the battle in the north, and he 
had dust on his head, and his clothes were 
all torn. And he cried, "All the men of 
Israel are slain!'' And after him came 
another; and he said, "All the men of Is- 
rael are scattered and driven away." And 
after him came another, who cried, "Saul 
is dead, and Jonathan is dead also." 

Then all the people lifted up their voices 
and wept. And they told it in the palace 
where little Mephibosheth lived. "Ah, 
little one, little one," cried his nurse, "thy 
father is slain. The great prince of Israel 
is dead. Thou wilt never see thy father 
again." And at that, poor little Mephibo- 
sheth, who could understand nothing of 
all this, except that he should not see his 
dear and noble and loving father again,— 
at that, little Mephibosheth cried. But his 
nurse and all the servants were wringing 
their hands, and crying: "What shall we 
do? Oh, what shall we do? Our wicked 
enemies will come down and kill us. For 



38 Little Bible Boys 

Jonathan is dead." And they started to 
run away. Away to the Jordan River they 
would go, and get across it, where they 
could not be found. 

So some took up their jewels and their 
money; and some snatched up their costly 
clothes; and some picked up cushions; and 
some picked up vases and jars; and some 
picked up food; and they all hastened, 
crowding and pushing one another, out of 
the gates of the city, and away down the 
long, dusty, rocky road to the Jordan. 

Little Mephibosheth stood crying in all 
the confusion, for he did not know what 
to do. He did not know what was the 
trouble, only that his father was dead. He 
should never see his father again : they all 
said so. But David! David would take 
care of him. Had not his father told him 
David would take care of him? 

Then suddenly came his nurse, her arms 
full of bundles and treasures. She saw 
poor little Mephibosheth standing there 
crying. Oh, her eyes were wild, and her 
breath came pantingly ; for she was afraid, 



Little Bible Boys 39 

and she knew not what to do except what 
all the people were doing. But she would 
not leave little Mephibosheth behind. Put- 
ting all her bundles into one arm, she picked 
him up with the other, and hurried on. 

And just as they were passing through 
the gate, the people crowded and pushed, 
and tore little Mephibosheth from her arm. 
He fell on the hard, rocky pavement, and 
broke the bones of both his poor little feet. 
Then his nurse threw down all she had, and 
she gathered him up in her arms. While 
he cried and cried with the pain, she bore 
him on as fast as she could go, until they 
w^ere safely across the Jordan. 

Then they came to the house of a rich 
man named Machir, in Lo-debar, where 
Mephibosheth's nurse hid him away. There 
he stayed for many and many a month. 
And ever in his lonesome hiding place, he 
mourned for his father, and ever he wished 
for David. But his people would not take 
him to David; and he could not walk, for 
his poor feet had been made forever lame 
when he fell. 



40 Little Bible Boys 

But after a while, he heard how all the 
people had taken David to make him king. 
And from all around, they were going up 
to Hebron, to make David king. Mephibo- 
sheth was glad; for was not David his 
friend? His eyes shone gladness as he saw 
the people go by; and he waved his hands 
and shouted them good-speed from his win- 
dow, as they went up to make David king. 

Yet, strange as you may think it, David 
did not know of Mephibosheth ; for David 
had been far, far away in the woods and 
the mountains in the days when Mephibo- 
sheth was born, and he knew little of the 
people of Saul. But one day after David 
was made king, he called for an old servant 
of Saul's, and he said, ''Ziba, is there any 
one left of the house of Saul, that I may 
show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?" 

And Ziba said, ''Why, yes ; Jonathan has 
a son, Mephibosheth, and he is lame." 

''Where does he live?" asked David. 

"He is in the house of Machir," an- 
swered Ziba, "who lives in Lo-debar." 



Little Bible Boys 41 

And then, glad time! David sent for 
Mephibosheth to come to him. And Me- 
phibosheth, happy that at last his father's 
friend David had found him, gathered up 
all his belongings, and they put him upon 
a gentle beast, and carried him back across 
the Jordan, and over the hills of Benjamin, 
and down the valley to Jerusalem, to the 
palace of David. He came before the throne 
of David, and he bowed himself to the 
ground before David. 

And then the sweetest voice in Israel 
softly called, ''Mephibosheth.'' And Me- 
phibosheth said, ''Behold, thy servant." 
David answered : "Do not be afraid. I 
loved your father, Jonathan, and I will be 
kind to you for his sake. I will get back 
for you all the land your grandfather Saul 
had; and you shall live in my house, and 
eat at my own table always." 

So at last David had found Mephibo- 
sheth; and all that Jonathan had promised 
that David would do, he did, and more. 
And then Mephibosheth, who had been so 
sad a little prince, was very glad. 





HERE was a rough, stony road, 
going uphill. There was a bald- 
headed man walking along the 
road. There was a crowd of 
boys coming down the road out 
of the city. And the city was Bethel. 

He was a good man, and his name was 
Elisha. But they were bad children, those 
boys of Bethel. Their fathers and mothers 
had not taught them to be good to older 
people, nor to love God. Elisha had just 
seen Elijah, the great prophet, go up into 
heaven, and he had told the people of it. 
But these boys and their fathers and 
mothers made fun of it. 

So they came down the road, and when 
they saw Elisha toiling along toward the 
city, they made fun of him. They picked 
up sticks and pretended to walk as he did, 

(43) 



44 Little Bible Boys 

and they laughed and jeered at him, and 
they shouted : "Go up, thou baldhead ! Go 
up, thou baldhead! Elijah went up! Go 
up too, thou baldhead!" 

Elisha would not have cared for him- 
self; but he knew that if those children 
grew up to be so naughty toward older 
people, and to hate God and His servants, 
they would do even more wicked things. 
And he must teach a lesson. So he turned 
around and looked at them, and in the 
name of God, he cursed them. 

Then, oh, how the children screamed and 
ran and screamed! For out of the woods 
by the roadside came two she-bears, and 
they ran right among the children, and 
they caught this one, and they caught that 
one, and they caught another one, and they 
tore them. And the children ran and 
screamed and ran ; and the bears ran after 
them, and they caught more, until they had 
caught forty-two of the bad boys of Bethel. 

And the rest of the children ran into 
the city and told the people how the bears 
had torn so many. And they told the 



Little Bible Boys 45 

fathers and mothers of the children who 
had been torn. And then those fathers 
and mothers wished they had taught their 
children to be good and kind to people. 
And all the people remembered, ever after, 
the time when God was insulted, and His 
prophet was insulted, and how God had 
sent the bears to punish those children. 
And none of the children, I hope, were ever 
so wicked again. 




m 

A 

C 

0) 



C 

Ol 

o 







"T^e Boy 
Who Was Raised 

from the 

Dead 




^NCE, when the prophet Elisha 
was on earth, there lived a good 
woman in a town called Shunem. 
And through that town the 
prophet Elisha used often to go. 
And tvhen he went through that town, he 
used to stop and stay with that good 
woman and her husband. 

So finally, one day, the woman said to 
her husband : ^'I see that this is a holy man 
of God. Let us make a little room on the 
house for him, and put in it a bed and a 
table and a stool and a candlestick; and 
this shall be his own room, for him to stay 
in whenever he comes this way.^^ 

So they made the little room on the house, 
and they put in it the bed, and the table, 

(47) 



48 Little Bible Boys 

and the stool, and the candlestick, with a 
candle in it to be lighted. And then, one 
day pretty soon, along came the good 
prophet Elisha with his servant Gehazi; 
and he stopped at that house again, as he 
always did. He was very tired, and the 
good woman showed him at once his room. 
And he looked in, and he saw the nice clean 
bed for him to lie on, and he saw the little 
table for him to put his Bible on, and he 
saw the strong stool for him to sit on, and 
he saw the candlestick with the candle in 
it all waiting to be lighted for him to see 
by. And he was very glad. 

So he lay down on the bed to rest. And 
he said to his servant Gehazi, "What shall 
we do for this woman who is so kind as to 
give us this fine room?*' 

"Why," said his servant Gehazi, "she has 
no child." 

Then Elisha sent for her; and when she 
came, she stood in the door. And he said 
to her, "About this time next year you shall 
have a son." And the woman was so 
glad she could hardly believe him ; for, you 



Little Bible Boys 49 

see, she had no little boy and no little girl, 
and she did so long for one of her own. 

And sure enough, next year about that 
time, a baby boy was born to her. And if 
I could tell you how happy that good woman 
of Shunem was, then I could tell you how 
much every mother loves her every little 
boy, which I can't. 

And that little boy grew, and he grew. 
And he was a beautiful boy, I have no 
doubt (though of course I never saw him), 
with his happy smile, and his dark eyes, 
and his curly black hair all over his round 
little head. And his mother was very proud 
of him, and very glad for him. 

And then, one day, he went out to the 
field where his father, with all the men, 
was reaping grain. It was a hot day, and 
the boy stood out in the sun with his father, 
watching the reapers. And all of a sud- 
den, he cried to his father, ^^My head T My 
head!" And his father called a big boy, 
and said, "Carry him to his mother." 

So the big boy carried the little boy to 
his mother in the house. And she took 



50 Little Bible Boys 

him up on her lap, and she rocked him, and 
she cuddled him, while all the time the 
great fear was in her heart, ^^Am I going 
to lose my boy, the only boy I ever had?'' 
Yes, she must. For he sat on her lap till 
noon, and then he died. 

The mother said never a word, but she 
got up and took him into the prophet's 
room, and she laid him on the prophet's 
bed. And she shed never a tear, for her 
heart ached too much to mourn or cry; but 
she went out and shut the door, and left 
him there. 

Then she sent for her husband, and said, 
''Send me a young man to saddle the ass, 
that I may go to the man of God." 

Now her husband didn't know that his 
little boy was dead; and he said: ''Why, 
this is neither new moon nor Sabbath. 
Why will you go to the prophet?" 

But she only answered, "It shall be 
well." 

And when the ass was ready saddled, 
she sat upon it, and said to her servant, 
"Drive fast." And she rode and she rode 




She fell at t' prophet's feet and thanked him. 



(51) 



52 Little Bible Boys 

and she rode, far, far away to the moun- 
tain where the man of God was. And when 
she had come to him, she threw herself 
down at his feet, and cried : ^^Did I ask for 
a son? Did I not say. Do not deceive me?*' 
Then he knew that her little boy was dead. 

And he said to his servant Gehazi, ^Take 
my staff, and go fast, and lay it upon the 
face of the child.'' And his servant Gehazi 
went. 

But the mother said to Elisha, '1 will not 
leave thee.'' So he rose and went with her. 
And his servant Gehazi went on ahead, and 
came and laid the staff upon the face of 
the little boy, but there was neither voice 
nor hearing. And he turned back to 
Elisha, and said, "The child is not awaked." 
So. Elisha and the mother came to the 
house in Shunem. And Elisha went into 
the room, and there the little boy lay dead 
upon his bed. And he shut the door, and 
kneeling down, he prayed. Then he rose 
and lay upon the child, and put his mouth 
upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, 
and his hands upon his hands. And he felt 



Little Bible Boys 53 

the little boy^s flesh grow warm. Then 
he rose and walked down the room, and he 
walked back up the room. And again he 
lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon 
his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and 
his hands upon his hands. And the child 
sneezed seven times, and the child opened 
his eyes, and he was alive. 

Then Elisha called his servant Gehazi, 
and said, ^^Call this Shunammite.'' And 
when she came, Elisha said to her, "Take 
up thy son.'^ 

And she looked upon him on the bed 
where she had laid him ; and his eyes looked 
into her eyes, and his lips smiled at her 
once again, and his hands stretched out to- 
ward her. And, oh, how happy that dear 
mother was then! And she fell at the 
prophet's feet and thanked him. 

Then she clasped her boy to her heart, 
and went out, more glad for him even than 
she had been when first, a little baby, he 
had lain in her arms. 

So this is the wonderful tale of the little 
bov who died and was raised from the dead. 




She cried, "Treason! Treason!" 



(54) 



Little Boy 

Who Was Hid in 

the Temple 





^H, what a terrible time! Men 
running and shouting, and cry- 
ing and hiding, and falling down 
dead ! And women weeping and 
wringing their hands, and beg- 
ging to live ! 

The baby Joash waked from his nap at 
all the horrible noise, and sitting up in his 
bed, he cried for his nurse. Just one year 
old he was, this littlest son of the dead king 
of Judah, and here he was all alone — and 
such a horrible noise! What could be the 
matter? 

Then he saw some of his sisters. They 
rushed to the door of his room, and they 
knocked it open, and they ran in crying. 
Then his brothers came running in, and 

(55) 



56 Little Bible Boys 

after them were men with swords. And 
the men caught little Joash's brothers there, 
and killed them. 

But little Joash's nurse ran in, and she 
picked up the little Joash in her arms, and 
they were knocked down, and they fell 
among the brothers, the king's sons that 
were slain. And his nurse kept very still, 
and little Joash kept very still, and the 
wicked men went away. 

Oh, who had done this terrible thing? 
It was his wicked, wicked old grandmother, 
Athaliah. For she hated God, and she 
hated all the king's children, and so she 
sent the soldiers to kill them. 

Little Joash lay there, and his nurse. 
And pretty soon came stepping, stepping 
softly in, Jehosheba, little Joash's aunt. 
She looked at this one, and she looked at 
that one, of the poor dead princes, and she 
cried; for she loved them. And then she 
came to little Joash and his nurse, lying 
there so still. And she touched him, and he 
stirred. And she gave a soft little cry of 
joy, for she found he was alive. 



Little Bible Boys 57 

Then she took him up, and his nurse, and 
she took them with her, and hid them in 
a room in the great beautiful temple of 
God. For she was the wife of the high 
priest, Jehoiada, who ruled there in the 
temple, and so she could hide them there. 
But she and Jehoiada did, not tell the 
wicked Athaliah that they had the little 
Joash hidden there, and they did not tell 
the captains, and they did not tell anybody. 

So the baby Joash grew up, away back 
there in that secret room in the temple. He 
was one year old when he went there. And 
he grew to be two years old, and could walk. 
And he grew to be three years old, and 
could talk. And he grew to be four years 
old, and could read. And he grew to be 
five years old, and was learning everything. 
For the good priest Jehoiada taught him 
to love God, and to know God's command- 
ments by heart. And his good aunt Je- 
» 

hosheba told him that he was the king's 
son, and that he should yet come to be king, 
and that he must learn all he could, so as 
to be a good and great king. 



Little Bible Boys 59 

And so he came to be six years old, and 
seven years old. And all this time, his 
wicked old grandmother Athaliah was 
reigning over the land. But the people 
hated her. So Jehoiada called the Levites 
together, and the captains of the soldiers, 
and he told them the little prince Joash was 
alive and staying there in the temple. 
Then he brought them into the room where 
Joash stood waiting to see them. And they 
were glad. 

So then Jehoiada said, ''Now you must 
get all your men together, and come up 
here to the temple with your swords and 
with your shields, and stand around the 
little prince Joash, and we will make him 
king.'' And they did so. They came up 
with their swords and with their shields, 
a great, great many soldiers. And the 
Levites came out with trumpets, a great, 
great many trumpets, and they blew their 
trumpets until the temple rang. 

And inside, in the little room, stood Joash 
with his good aunt Jehosheba. And she 
kissed him, and she cried over him, and 



60 Little Bible Boys 

she laughed over him. And she said, *'See 
that you be a good king, my little boy 
Joash, and that you love the God whom 
the wicked Athaliah hates." 

Then, while the trumpets blew and blew, 
out walked Joash with the high priest Je- 
hoiada, and came and stood by a pillar in 
the court of the temple. And all the 
people saw him, and they shouted until 
they cried. And the trumpets rang and 
rang again. And the soldiers stood on the 
right side, and they stood on the left side, 
and they stood in front, so that none could 
get to the little prince Joash. 

Then all was still, while Jehoiada put 
the crown on his head, and gave him the 
book of God's law, and poured the sweet 
holy oil upon his head, and made him king. 
And all the people shouted again, and sang, 
and cried, *'Long live the king!" 

Now that wicked old grandmother Atha- 
liah heard the noise of the people shouting, 
and she came into the temple court. And 
she heard the people shouting, "Long live 
the king!" and she saw the soldiers on 



Little Bible Boys 61 

the right side and on the left side and in 
front; and there by the pillar she saw the 
king, the little boy she thought she had 
killed. And she caught hold of her dress 
and tore it, and she cried, "Treason! 
Treason!" 

But Jehoiada lifted his hand, and he 
said, "Take her out between the ranks, and 
if anybody follows her, let him be slain 
with the sword!" So the soldiers caught 
hold of her and took her out, because they 
would not kill her in the temple. But when 
they came to the gate of the king^s house, 
there they smote her, and she died. 

And they brought the little king Joash 
out from the temple, where he had so long 
been hidden; and they took him to the 
king's house, and there he sat upon the 
king's throne, and he promised that he 
would keep the law of God and be good to 
all the people. Then again the people' 
shouted, "Long, long live the king!" 




be 






m 

C 



o 
o 




p 



HE best king that the people of 
Judah ever had was named Jo- 
siah. He was only a boy when he 
was made king, just eight years 
old. His father had been a very 
wicked king, and his grandfather had been 
the wickedest of all ; but little King Josiah 
was a good king. The people were doing 
very wicked things. Instead of loving God 
and keeping His commandments, they began 
to worship the sun, which they called Baal. 
They made images of wood and stone and 
silver and gold, and set them up in Jeru- 
salem and all the other cities. Then they 
made altars before them, and burned sweet 
incense to them, and bowed down and 
prayed to those dumb images. And they 
did all sorts of evil things, for so they be- 
lieved these gods commanded them. They 

(63) 



64 Little Bible Boys 

stole, and they lied, and they broke the 
Sabbath, and children hated their parents, 
and fathers hated their children. 

And when the young king Josiah saw 
how badly things were going, he began to 
seek the true God Jehovah. And he prayed 
that God would give him power to change 
the people from their wicked ways. Then 
he called his men around, and sent them 
out to break down the images in his city, 
Jerusalem. So they broke them down, and 
ground them up to powder, and Josiah 
scattered the dust over the graves of those 
who had worshiped them. And he called 
upon all the people to come back and wor- 
ship Jehovah. 

And when he had made Jerusalem all 
clean, he started through all the land, with 
the priests of God and with his soldiers; 
and ever^^where they went, they found the 
images of Baal. And they broke them 
down, and called all the people back to wor- 
ship the true God. 

At last, they came to a place called 
Bethel, where there was an altar and a 



Little Bible Boys 65 

temple to the sun. And in it was a golden 
calf, which Jeroboam, a great king, had 
made many, many years before. And here 
the people of Israel had long done evil. So 
when Josiah came there, he commanded his 
men to grind to powder the golden calf, and 
to burn all the images. And when he 
looked about him, in the mountains he saw 
the sepulchers, or graves, of men who had 
long been dead. And he told his men to go 
and gather bones from these graves. And 
when they had done so, he burned the bones 
upon the altar, to defile the place ; for then, 
he knew, people would never worship the 
sun again there. 

As they were gathering the bones from 
the sepulchers, Josiah saw a monument at 
one of the graves. And he said, "What is 
that?'' Then they told him this story: 

"Long, long ago, when Jeroboam first 
built this altar and this temple, there came 
a prophet out of Judah, and he came here 
and stretched out his hand, and cried, *0 
altar, altar, thus says Jehovah, There shall 
be a child born, Josiah by name; and upon 



66 Little Bible Boys 

you shall he sacrifice your wicked priests, 
and he shall burn men's bones upon you.' 

^Then the king Jeroboam was angry at 
the prophet, and he stretched out his hand 
toward him, saying, 'Lay hold on him.' 
But his arm which he stretched out was 
withered, so that he could not draw it back 
again. Then he felt very humble, and he 
asked the prophet to pray for him. The 
prophet did pray for him, and his arm was 
healed. 

" 'Come home with me,' said the king 
then, 'and eat and drink and rest; and I 
will give you a reward.' 

"But the prophet said: 'I will not; for 
Jehovah charged me, saying. You shall eat 
no bread, nor drink water, nor return by 
the way you came.' And he turned and 
started home another way. 

"But there was an old man there who 
once had been a prophet of Jehovah, but 
who had left Him. And when he heard 
what the prophet had done, he saddled his 
ass and started after him. And when he 
came up with him, he said, 'Come back with 




The lion stood by the prophet he had slain. 



(67) 



68 Little Bible Boys 

me; for an angel told me to ask you to 
come/ But he lied to him. Then the 
prophet believed him; and because he was 
tired and hungry, he turned around and 
went back with the old man. And when 
he was rested, he started on his way again. 
But he had gone only a little way when a 
lion met him, and slew him, because he 
had not obeyed God. 

''Then the old man, when he heard of it, 
went after him, and picked him up, and 
brought him back to Bethel. And he made 
a sepulcher, and built a monument over it, 
and there he buried the prophet, and there 
he himself afterwards was buried. And 
that monument," said they to Josiah, "is 
the monument you see yonder, the monu- 
ment of the prophet who called you by 
name so many, many years before you were 
born, and told what you should do to this 
place." 

And when Josiah heard that, he said: 
"Let him be. Let no man touch his bones." 
And so they left him where he lay. 



Little Bible Boys 69 

Then, when the good king Josiah had 
gone through all the cities, and had broken 
down all the altars of Baal, and brought 
the people back to worship Jehovah, he 
came back to Jerusalem. And there he 
gathered all the people from all over the 
land to keep the Passover. They came on 
foot, and they came on horseback, and they 
came on camels and in carriages, thou- 
sands and thousands of them, to keep the 
Passover. For they were very glad that 
they had turned again to serve the true 
God, and that they no longer worshiped 
idols of wood and stone and gold. And so 
great a feast did they have, and so many 
were the people who came, that it was said 
there never had been a Passover like that 
Passover, since the days of Samuel the 
seer. And all the people praised the Lord 
God Jehovah, because He had given them 
such a ruler as the good king Josiah. 




He came to the palaces and the great men's houses. 
(70) 





N the days of good King Josiah, 
there lived among the priests a 
little boy whose name was Jere- 
miah. He was a timid little fel- 
low, with great tearful brown 
eyes, and sweet, gentle ways. He studied 
the law of God, and he loved God, and felt 
very sorry for the evil ways of all the 
people. 

So one day the Lord God came to Jere- 
miah, as He had once long before to the 
little Samuel; and He said, "Before you 
were born, I knew you, and made up My 
mind to have you for a prophet to all the 
people." 

But the little boy Jeremiah said, '^0 
Jehovah God, I cannot prophesy, for I am 
only a child.'' 

Then Jehovah God looked upon the 
shrinking little fellow, and He said : "Never 
mind if you are only a child. For every- 

(71) 



72 Little Bible Boys 

where I send you, you can go; and every- 
thing I tell you, you can speak. You shall 
not be afraid of the wicked people. For I 
have made you like a walled city; I have 
made your slender little body like an iron 
pillar; I have made your tender little face 
like a brazen wall against the men that do 
evil.'' 

So the boy Jeremiah was set to be a 
prophet in a very wicked land, He went 
up to Jerusalem, the great city where the 
beautiful temple of God was. And as he 
went through the streets of the city, he 
found people making altars in the streets 
to the sun god and the moon god and the 
star gods, and worshiping them, instead of 
worshiping Jehovah God. They gathered 
at the street corners, and there they set up 
images of Baal and of the queen of heaven, 
and put altars before them. Then the chil- 
dren ran about to gather wood, the fathers 
put it on the altars and started the fires, 
the mothers and the maidens kneaded dough 
into cakes and baked them there, to pretend 
to feed the senseless idols. 



Little Bible Boys 73 

Then the Spirit of God came upon the 
child Jeremiah, and he stood and cried: 
^^Are you not ashamed to say to a piece of 
wood, *You are my father,' and to a stone, 
Tou are my mother'? How can you steal, 
and murder, and swear falsely, and wor- 
ship all these idols, and then go up to God's 
great temple, and say, We are allowed to 
do all these wicked things'? Is this house, 
which is called by My name, saith Jehovah, 
become a den of robbers in your eyes?" 

But most of the people would not listen 
to the little prophet. Then he went on, and 
he said to himself, ''Surely I must expect 
these poor people to be foolish; I will go 
to the great men and speak to them, for 
they know Jehovah God." So he came to 
the palaces and the great men's houses, and 
spoke to them. But he found that they 
were wicked too, and -were leading the 
people to do these wicked things. And the 
little prophet was almost discouraged. 
''Oh," he cried, "that my head were a foun- 
tain of tears, that mine eyes might run 
rivers of water for the sins of my people!" 



74 Little Bible Boys 

Then the Lord God came and gave him 
courage. ''It is a wicked nation,"- He said, 
"and they will not hear you. But you shall 
not be afraid of them: they shall fight 
against you, but they shall not conquer you. 
And some of them will hear, and these will 
I give you for your people.'^ 

Then the little prophet Jeremiah was 
brought to the good king Josiah. The king 
had looked upon the wickedness of the 
people too, and he had just begun to try to 
make them good. He set out with his sol- 
diers, and cast down the idols, and ground 
them to powder; and he made the people 
come back to worship Jehovah. Some of 
them did it with all their hearts, but the 
most of them did it only because the king 
made them do it. 

And after the death of good King Josiah, 
the people turned again to their idols. 
Then Jeremiah, who had grown up to be a 
man, preached again to the people, to turn 
them from their evil ways. But they hated 
him. They took him and cast him into a 
deep pit in the court of the prison. There 




They cast him into a deep pit. 



(75) 



76 Little Bible Boys 

was mire in the bottom, and Jeremiah sank 
down into the mire. But there was a good 
black man in the king's house, named Ebed- 
meleeh, who went and got ropes and let 
them down to Jeremiah, with old rags to 
put under his arms so the ropes would not 
cut, and then he drew Jeremiah up. But 
Jeremiah still had to stay in prison. 

Yet he had some faithful friends. One 
of them was named Baruch. He would 
write what Jeremiah spoke for the people, 
and then he would carry it out and read 
it to them. And though the most of them 
were wicked, and would not listen, there 
were some who did listen, and loved God, 
and did right. One of these was a boy 
named Daniel, and he had three friends 
who were like him. Their parents, too, 
loved God; and in their homes there were 
many prayers offered for the prophet Jere- 
miah, who had been so faithful from his 
childhood in teaching the ways of God. 

At last, the city was taken by the king 
of Babylon, and Jeremiah was set free, 
to go where he pleased. Daniel and his 



Little Bible Boys 77 

friends were carried to Babylon, where 
they became great in God's work. But 
the king of Babylon told Jeremiah he might 
do as he chose : if he would go to Babylon, 
the king would make him a great man ; but 
he was free to go where he would. The 
king was carrying most of the men of 
Judah to Babylon, but he left a few in the 
land; and Jeremiah would not leave these, 
for he wanted to help them still to serve 
God. So he stayed with the few poor 
people there in the desolate land; and even 
as when he was a boy, so now when he was 
a man, he taught the people the ways of 
Jehovah God, until his death. 



Ill -V/i ''si^^^ ^ ., ^'-^7 . <BSS 



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T^e BOY 

in tf\e 

W^ilderness 





'^ N the days of Herod the king, 
there was a father named Zach- 
arias, and a mother named 
Elisabeth, and a little boy named 
John. John was the only child 
Zacharias and Elisabeth had. Like the 
little Jeremiah, he had been called even 
before his birth to be a prophet of God. 
Now in the days when John lived, there 
were no prophets, and there had not been 
any for a long, long time. And his father 
and mother were anxious to train him just 
right for a prophet. 

They did not dare stay in the city with 
him, for fear he would learn its evil ways ; 
so they took their little boy John and went 
out into the country that was called the 
Wilderness of Judea. There they had a 
house ; there was land to make gardens and 

(79) 



80 Little Bible Boys 

sow fields ; there were caves for sheepf olds ; 
there was pasture for flocks and herds. It 
was not a very beautiful country ; for while 
in places there were trees and grass, for the 
most part the land was broken and rocky, 
and in some places bare of everything but 
sand and rocks. 

The little boy John grew up here in the 
wilderness. He learned to take care of the 
few sheep and cows they had, he learned to 
plow the ground and sow the seed and reap 
the harvest. And on the Sabbath days and 
in the evenings, he went out among the 
trees and the rocks, and talked with God. 
He studied the Bible ; for he knew he must 
do this in order to know what he was to 
teach the people. For John was to be the 
greatest prophet that ever lived. He was 
to be the prophet that would tell the people 
of Jesus' coming as the Christ, the King, 
the Saviour of the world. 

John's mother and father taught him 
how to read and write; and they taught 
him all they could of the blessed word of 
God. But this was not all they taught him. 



Little Bible Boys 81 

They taught him to be quick and earnest, 
to do everything that needed to be done, and 
to do it on time. They taught him that fine 
clothes do not make a man ; and they taught 
him that to eat everything he wanted and 
whenever he wanted it, would not make a 
good prophet. A man and a prophet must 
be simple and self-denying. 

So as John grew up, he lived on the 
simplest food, the fruit of the locust tree, 
and the honey that the wild bees made. 
And the clothing he wore was not the fine 
raiment worn by those who live in kings' 
houses. No ; it was made of coarse camel's 
hair, and was bound about his waist with 
a leather belt. But he grew up sturdy and 
strong, with a straight, supple body and 
a strong mind. He could not be tempted 
to be weak, nor peevish, nor angry, nor 
cross; but though he was strong, he was 
forgiving ; and though he was stern to him- 
self, he was kind to others. 

And the day came at last when he was 
to go and tell the people that Jesus was 
coming. So then the strong young prophet 



u 



82 Little Bible Boys 

in the wilderness went forth and stood by 
the waters of the Jordan, crying, ^Trepare 
ye the way of the Lord; make His paths 
straight; for the Christ is coming, and the 
kingdom of God is at hand." Then the 
people who were passing by stopped to 
hear him ; and they asked him, ^*What shall 
we do?" 

Repent of your sins," said the prophet, 
be baptized, and have your hearts right 
to receive the Christ." So the people went 
down into the water and were baptized by 
John. And everywhere they went, they 
carried the news, ^The prophet of the 
Christ is come out of the wilderness, and is 
preaching repentance and baptism by the 
Jordan." 

So all the people of all the cities, and all 
the people from all the country, went out 
to hear John preach. *^What shall we do?" 
they cried. And the prophet who had lived 
in the wilderness told them to leave their 
evil and their weakness, to be simple and 
to be true. "Whoever has two coats," he 
said, "let him give one to him who has none. 



Little Bible Boys 83 

Whoever has more than he needs to eat, let 
him share with him who is hungry. Do not 
grow angry. Strike no one. Be content 
with what you have, and seek the kingdom 
of God; for the Christ is near at hand.'' 

Then all the people began to think, ^Ter- 
haps this John is the Christ Himself.'' But 
he said: ^^No, I am not the Christ. He is 
coming soon. I am the voice of one crying 
in the wilderness, Trepare ye the way of 
the Lord.' Repent and be converted; for 
the Christ is coming soon." 

So many were converted, and were ready 
to receive Jesus when He came. And Jesus 
was glad to see John. He was glad he had 
grown so strong and true; and He said of 
this boy who had lived in the wilderness, 
"Never was there a greater prophet." 




There they saw Jesus, the little lad. 



(84) 




A LAD 

of 

GALILEE 




N the days when John the Bap- 
tizer was yet a boy, there lived 
in a little town in Galilee a lad 
just twelve years old. He was 
said to be the carpenter's son; 
for Joseph, whom His mother Mary had 
married, was the village carpenter. 

And this boy learned very early to help 
Joseph in the shop and in building houses 
and in all sorts of work. He learned, too, 
to help His mother in the house. But when 
the day's work was done. He loved to go 
quietly away to the fields and the woods 
and along the streams, where He could see 
the winds stirring the branches, and hear 
the birds singing, and watch the fishes 
playing in the waters. He watched the 
red lilies growing up on their slender stems ; 
and as he looked at them. He thought, 
*'Even Solomon in all his glory was not 

(85) 



86 Little Bible Boys 

arrayed like one of these." And as He saw 
the birds flitting from tree to tree, and 
heard them singing their glad songs, He 
thought: ^These birds of the air, they do 
not sow, nor reap, nor store up in barns; 
yet My heavenly Father feeds them. Will 
He not much more care for all of us?" And 
as He drank of the clear waters flowing 
over the rocks in the little brooks, He 
thought : ^^The wellspring of wisdom is like 
a flowing stream. And with joy shall we 
draw water out of the wells of salvation." 
At His mother^s knee. He learned to read 
the Scriptures ; and on the Sabbath days, 
when He went with His mother and His 
half brothers to the synagogue, so good a 
reader was He that He was often called on 
by the rabbi to read the Bible lesson for 
the day. So much did He study the Bible, 
that He could remember and repeat it 
whether He had the book with Him or not ; 
and when He went out into the woods and 
the fields and talked to His heavenly Fa- 
ther, the words of that same heavenly Fa- 
ther which He had learned in the Bible 



Little Bible Boys 87 

would come back to Him in answer. So, 
pure and true and lovely, grew up the boy 
Jesus among the hills of Nazareth. 

To one thing He looked forward with 
joy, and that was the day when He should 
be twelve years old, and Joseph and Mary 
would take Him with them when they went 
up to the feast at Jerusalem. For not till 
a boy was twelve years old could he go up 
to the feast. And at last, that day came 
for the boy Jesus. With many a shout of 
joy, with laughter of young men and maid- 
ens and children, with the glad commands 
of the leaders, the caravan of people moved 
off toward the south, toward the great and 
holy city Jerusalem. 

The days were long ones of marching, 
but they never grew too weary for the boy 
of Nazareth. And the nights were won- 
derful times, with the stars shining down 
upon the encampment, while the voices of 
the elders ran on in endless tales of the 
glorious deeds of their fathers and the great 
works of God. And finally, after days and 
days of travel, they came up over the moun- 



88 Little Bible Boys 

tains to where they could see the great 
city, with its beautiful temple of snowy 
white walls and its blazing golden roof. 
Then they all shouted for joy. They knelt 
down to pray; and rising, they marched 
joyfully forward to the city of the feast 
of the great God. 

The little boy Jesus went up to the 
temple, and watched the priests slaying the 
lambs while the people confessed their sins 
and asked for them to be forgiven because 
of the shed blood. And as He had watched 
the lilies grow and the birds sing and the 
waters run, and had found in them lessons 
from God, so now He found the lessons 
that were meant in the sacrifice of lambs 
and bullocks. For the word of God He had 
studied came to His mind. ^^God will pro- 
vide Himself a lamb,'' He had heard it said 
by Abraham. ''Behold, My servant," He 
remembered His heavenly Father had said, 
''is brought as a lamb to the slaughter;" 
and there His heavenly Father taught Him 
that the blood of the lamb the priest was 
slaying could not take away sins, but it 



Little Bible Boys 89 

was meant to point to the Lamb of God> 
the Christ who should die for His people 
and so take away their sins. And there^ 
as He stood, He heard God say, "My Son, 
Thou art the Lamb of God." So for the 




This boy learned very early to help Joseph in the shop. 

first time in His life, this little lad of Gali- 
lee came to know that He was to be the 
Saviour of the world. 

But Joseph and Mary, as the days of the 
feast went on, forgot their boy. So quiet 
was He, and so careful, that they felt they 



90 Little Bible Boys 

need not watch out for Him. And when 
the feast w^as ended, and they started home, 
Joseph and Mary went along with all the 
people, without seeing Jesus. They thought 
He was somewhere in the company. Not 
till the night came, and they missed His 
help, did they know He was lost. 

Then they sorrowfully went back alone 
to Jerusalem, and searched everywhere for 
Him; but they could not find Him. Oh, 
how sad they were as they thought they 
might never see their beautiful, loving boy 
again ! But once more they came up into the 
temple; and there, as they came near one 
of the rooms, they heard His voice. How 
glad they were! They entered the room, 
and there they saw Jesus, the little lad, 
sitting in the midst of all the old, grave 
teachers, asking them questions and listen- 
ing to their answers. The teachers thought 
they were teaching the boy Jesus. But they 
were really learning of Him; for the won- 
derful things He had heard from God here 
at the feast. He was opening up to their 
minds by His questions. 



Little Bible Boys 91 

As Joseph and Mary saw Him, they 
called Him to them; and then Mary said: 
^'Son, why have You done this way with 
us? Do You know Your father and I have 
been seeking You sorrowfully these three 
days?'' 

But Jesus had learned that He was not 
the son of Joseph, but the Son of God. He 
had learned that He had a great work to 
do for His heavenly Father; and He an- 
swered gently: ^^How was it that you 
sought Me? Did you not know I must be 
doing the work of My Father?'' Then He 
went with them obediently; and on the 
long journey alone up to their home in 
Nazareth, He taught them something of the 
things He had learned at the feast. Still, 
in the home, and in the shop, and in the 
fields, He lived as the simple boy Jesus, just 
a lad of Galilee, until the day that John's 
voice was heard, saying, "Repent and be 
baptized, for the kingdom of heaven is at 
hand." Then Jesus left His Nazareth 
home, and went out to show Himself the 
Saviour of the world. 



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